Browsing by Title

Research shows that Finnish people could increase the consumption of some domestic fish species. Increased consumption has been calculated to have economic, social, and environmental benefits. The current situation of fish consumption is unsustainable. Academic literature on consumption and food systems emphasizes the importance of a holistic view to sustainability. Environmental sustainability has been emphasized and other dimensions of sustainability have been neglected, regarding policies and regulations of the fish industry. In this study, it is argued that observing the consumer perceptions of sustainability dimensions could help to develop a more sustainable fish industry and consumption patterns. The theoretical framework was formed based on literature review. A three-dimensional view to sustainability was used including social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The relevant factors to measure the importance of the dimensions were formed with previous studies on fish consumption. The research aims to reveal perceptions to sustainability dimensions importance from a consumer interface. The research questions are: Which dimensions of sustainability have importance to consumers regarding fish consumption? Are any of the dimensions and factors involved more important than the others? Are there differences between groups on the perception of the dimensions? The research was carried out as a quantitative online survey and shared on social media platforms. Data (N=107) was analysed with quantitative methods (descriptive statistics, crosstabulation and Kruskal-Wallis’s test). Most participants considered all sustainability dimensions important. Environmental dimension was the most important, and especially the factors of protecting the ecosystems, fish stocks and waterbodies. Between age groups a statistically significant difference was found in the importance of the environmental dimension. The results indicate that Finnish people are willing to consume more domestic fish, and care about the sustainability of fish consumption. This study contributes to the discussion of sustainable fish consumption and provides a new approach on developing more sustainable food systems.

This Master’s Thesis studies the main barriers in exporting forest products from Finland to Russia. The barriers are studied on three levels: the home market in Finland, the host market in Russia, and the internal resources and organization of the firms. In addition, the perceptions of industry producers on Russia’s WTO membership are examined. The focus of the study is on the mechanical forest industry circumstances and on the perceptions of small and medium-size producers that are currently not exporting to Russia. The home and host markets are examined through analyses of previous findings with emphasis on the most influential aspects. In addition, a survey is conducted to study the perceptions of producers. The sample consists of 28 small and medium-size producers within the mechanical forest industry in Finland. The survey was conducted between January and February 2013. The main barriers on the home market were in connection to economic circumstances. The production costs and the challenging competitive circumstances in particular were highlighted. In the host market, challenges were more complex and emerged from a web of factors. Nevertheless, emphasis was given to bureaucracy, corruption, and legal aspects. The surveyed industry producers stressed barriers emerging from the host market. Smaller firms were particularly concerned with cultural and language aspects. The WTO membership was perceived to have only a neutral effect in terms of instigating export activities. The results of this study thus indicate that potential exporters in Finland face a number of export barriers, and Russia’s WTO membership alone does not result in greater inclination towards exporting.

This master's thesis investigated consumers' insights on sustainability, animal welfare, and nutrition-related qualities to increase the attractiveness of red meat. The study focused on Finnish young adult (18 to 35-year-old) flexitarians, who have reduced their red meat consumption and incorporated plant-based proteins into their diets. This study conducted a quantitative analysis through a questionnaire (n=588) and explored consumer dietary behavior, trust in labeling, social pressure, and opinions regarding rational and value-based quality factors through willingness to buy and pay. For Finnish young adult flexitarians, environmental, ethical, and nutritional factors emerge as the most influential aspects when changing dietary behaviors. The effect of social pressure is only mild, but flexitarians do exhibit greater bad conscience for red meat consumption. Domesticity is recognized as an important quality attribute for all respondents in this study. In contrast to other meat-eating consumers, flexitarians perceive plant proteins as healthier alternatives to red meat but still acknowledge its nutritional benefits. Most consumers, especially flexitarians, value ethical production and express willingness to pay more for meat with good animal welfare. Consumers' trust in company-provided sustainability and health-related information about their products is found to be lower than with general packaging information. The study proposes solutions related to carbon footprint and animal welfare labeling among others and emphasizes the significance of objective information and transparency. This master's thesis aids in understanding the quality factors necessary to maintain consumer acceptance of red meat and sheds light on the key drivers prompting consumers to adopt a more plant-based diet. The research guides companies and the meat industry on how to enhance their practices and bolster the attractiveness of red meat for future consumers.

Productivity and quality of two grazed coastal seashore meadows in Eastern Uusimaa were examined between May and July, 2002. A total of 18 1m2 sample sites divided into four separate cutting regimes were cut by hand to simulate grazing in the meadow. cutting regimes of various intensities were used to simulate the short term effects of different grazing pressures on the quality and productivity of the vascular plant forage in the meadows. Samples were dried, weighed and analysed for digestibility and composition. Digestibility analysis was carried out using in vitro digestibility analysis. A CNS- 1000 Elemental Analyzer was used to measure carbon, nitrogen and sulphur content of selected samples. The results showed that cumulative above ground phytomass productivity (AGPP) was dependent upon both biotope and cutting regime in the large (40 ha) Bosgård meadow, and that interaction betweeen these two factors was significant. The results of the smaller (<2 ha) Majvik meadow were highly variable between replicates. This variation overshadowed possible effects of biotope and cutting regime and their interaction. Quality was dependent upon both biotope and cutting regime. D-value decreased over time.

The first part of this thesis consists of literature review focusing on the folate vitamer chemical characteristics, the role of folate in human nutrition and health, the characteristics of folate in vegetables, berries and mushrooms, and also the determination of food folate. The second part reviews the experimental section of the study. Many food composition databases are lacking the folate content of unusual vegetables, berries and mushrooms. The objective of the experimental study was determination of total folate content in certain vegetables, berries and mushrooms using microbiological assay (MA) to update Fineli ® - Finnish Food Composition Database and also to study their folate vitamer distribution using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). Vegetables contained more folate than berries and mushrooms. In vegetables total folate content ranged from 25 to 108 µg/100 g (fw), in berries from 11 to 38 µg/100 g (fw) and in mushrooms from 4 to 30 (fw) µg/100 g. In vegetables the highest folate content was in rocket (108 µg/100 g fw), and in berries in raspberry and in cloudberry (38 µg/100 fw). In mushrooms overwhelmingly more folate was penny bun (30 µg/100 g fw). Based on the four primary samples of chanterelles, growing region affects mushroom folate content and vitamer distribution. Chanterelles from Estonia had more than triple amount of folate compared to chanterelles from Finland (Estonia 13,3 µg/100 g fw; Mäntyharju (Finland) 4,3 µg/100 g fw). Expectedly the predominant folate vitamer in vegetables and berries was 5-CH3-H4-folate. In berries 5-CH3-H4-folate constituted 87–100 % of the vitamer sum, except for blueberry which had lower proportion of 5-CH3-H4-folate (33 %). Coriander, rocket, roman salad and lamb’s lettuce contained also a high amount of 10-CHO-folic acid (28–54 %). Affinity chromatographic purification was not suitable purification method for most mushrooms species. In particular penny bun and northern milk-cap formed a viscous solution which made the filtering and cleaning difficult. On the other hand, the purification method seemed to be more suitable for chanterelles and based on that mushrooms’ folate vitamer distribution was more versatile than that of vegetables and berries.

The literature review of this thesis was focused on the pathway of folate biosynthesis with enzymes involved in it and factors effecting the synthesis of folate by bacteria. The literature was also partly focused on the introduction to propionic acid bacteria (PAB) and the folate production by these bacteria. The aim of the experimental part of the thesis was to screen the folate productivity of selected PAB strains isolated from various dairy and cereal sources after 96-hours anaerobic fermentation and also to see the effect of precursor (para-aminobenzoic acid) of folate biosynthesis on folate production by the strains. Then to further investigate the folate production of some promising PAB strains from screening part either with glucose or lactate as carbon source at four growth phases in aerobic fermentation. The propionic agar medium was used with either glucose or lactate as carbon source in the medium. Optical densities, pH, cell masses were measured after fermentation and folate produced by the strains was determined from biomass and supernatant of the samples using microbiological assay. Carbon consumption and metabolic end-products were analysed with HPLC after fermentation. Some of the screened PAB strains were promising folate producers. Strain 257 produced folate up to 124 µg/l which is even higher than production by some good Lactic acid bacteria (LAB). PAB strains produced intracellular folate upto 28954 ng/g cell biomass and excreted folate into medium upto 107 ng/ml. Strains grew faster with lactate than glucose but cell masses were higher with glucose than lactate even in the low pH. PAB strains showed the highest folate productivity in anaerobic fermentation with lactate as carbon source and aerobic fermentation with lactate as source was observed to be the best for high organic acid production. However, further studies are needed to optimise the cultivation condition of selected PAB strains for their best folate production in different matrices.

Tiivistelmä/Referat – Abstract Maailman ympäristölliset ja sosiaaliset huolenaiheet sekä sidosryhmien paine vaatii foodservice-toimijoilta toimia eri vastuullisuuden kysymyksiin. Vastuullisuuden ilmiötä tulee lähestyä toimialasidonnaisesti. Vastuullisuutta elintarvikealalla ehdotetaan tutkittavaksi seitsemän eri ulottuvuuden näkökulmasta: ravitsemuksen, eläinten hyvinvoinnin, elintarviketurvallisuuden, paikallisuuden, ympäristön, työolojen ja talouden näkökulmasta. Vastuullisuuden käsite on monitulkintainen ja käytänteitä sen alla on otettu käyttöön myös foodservice-markkinassa laajasti. Vastuullisuuskäytännöt ovat rajattu tässä tutkimuksissa vastuullisiin ruokahankintoihin. Tutkimuksen tavoite oli selvittää vastuullisten ruokahankintojen käsitysten ja eri vastuullisina pidettyjen tuotteiden ominaisuuksien painopisteitä. Tavoitetta tukevasti selvitettiin myös foodservice-toimijoiden käsityksiä heidän vaikutusmahdollisuuksistaan ja vastuullisten hankintojen toteutusmahdollisuuksista käyttäen Kesproa hankintakanavana. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus oli verkkokyselynä toteutettu kysely (n=12) liittyen foodservice-alan toimijoiden käsityksiin vastuullisista ruokahankinnoista. Verkkokyselyn kohderyhmä oli Kespron asiakaskuntaan kuuluvia foodservice-toimijoita. Tutkielma toteutettiin toimeksiantona Kesprolle, joka on johtava valtakunnallinen foodservice-alan tukkutoimija ja kumppani. Kespro toimi osin tai kokonaan tutkimuksen otoksen ruoanhankintakanavana. Ruoan toimitusketjun vastuullisuusriskin hallintaan sovellettiin agenttiteoriaa (agency theory), jonka keskiössä on toimittavan agentin ja ostavan päämiehen välinen suhde sekä päämiehen agentille delegoima tehtävä, joka tutkimuksen tapauksessa on vastuullisten hankintojen mahdollistaminen. Agenttiteorian mukaan päämies pyrkii hallitsemaan teorialle tyypillisiä ongelmia, kuten tavoiteristiriitaa, eriäviä asenteita riskiä kohtaan sekä mahdollista epäsymmetrisesti jakautunutta informaatiota. Toimitusketjun kontekstissa ominaista on samanaikaiset agentti- ja päämiesroolit sekä rooli toteuttaa ja välittää delegoitu tehtävä. Esimerkiksi ravintola on päämies suhteessa Kesproon, mutta agentti suhteessa kuluttajaan. Toinen tavoite oli käsitteellistää agentin ja päämiehen välisitä suhdetta tilanteessa, jossa agentti on asiakastaan suurempi ja omaa enemmän neuvotteluvaltaa ketjussa, mutta haluaa tukea päämiestään (yksittäinen foodservice-toimija) esimerkiksi vastuullisissa hankinnoissa. Empiirisessä osassa selvitettiin myös foodservice-toimijoiden kokemuksia agenttiteorian oletuksista sekä kommunikaatiosuhteen ja agenttiteorian ehdottamien hallintakeinojen toimivuudesta vastuullisuusriskin minimoinnissa suhteessa heidän agenttiinsa Kesproon. Seitsemästä vastuullisuuden ulottuvuudesta tuoteturvallisuuden korostuminen näyttää olevan foodservice-alan erityispiirre. Lisäksi ravitsemus arvostettiin korkealle. Nämä kaksi, paikallisuuden lisäksi, katsottiin voitavan myös toteuttaa parhaiten. Elintarviketurvallisuus ja ravitsemus korostuivat myös vaikutusmahdollisuuksissa. Merkityksissä kolmas oli eläinten hyvinvointi, mutta eläinten hyvinvointiin katsottiin voitavan vaikuttaa heikoiten hyödyntäen Kesproa hankintalähteenä. Eri vastuullisuuden ominaisuuksista korostuivat etenkin kotimaiset tuotteet, paikallisuus sekä lähituotteet. Sen sijaan ympäristö ei ulottuvuutena korostunut käsityksissä. ”Asiakaslähtöinen agentti”, jota ei ole käsitteellistetty aiemmin agenttiteorian kirjallisuudessa, mahdollistaa valvonta- tai yhteistyöperusteisen hallintastrategian päämiehelleen, eli asettaa toimintansa alttiiksi seurannalle ja avaa kanavia kommunikaatiolle. Toimitusketjussa se pyrkii käyttämään omaa asemaansa päämiehensä eduksi ja vaikutusmahdollisuuksia parantavasti mahdollistaessaan ja välittäessään tämän tavoitteet ruokahankintojen vastuullisuudesta. Päämies-agenttisuhteen hallintakeinoista vastuullisuusriskin minimoiseksi toimivimmiksi koettiin kattavat vastuullisuuteen liittyvät oman toiminnan sertifikaatit ja kriteerit sekä ketjussa välitettävät sertifikaatit ja kriteerit. Foodservice-päämiehet arvioivat hallintakeinojen joukosta yhteistyöperusteiseen hallintaan liittyvän kahdenvälisen kommunikaatiosuhteen toimivan heikoiten.

In recent years, the Laos economy – driven by the primary sector – has been growing fast, however poverty remains widespread. Economic growth is also influencing the livelihoods of rural people who account for 61% of Lao population and depend highly on forests and environmental resources. Many studies address the role of NTFPs in rural livelihoods globally but the total contribution of forests and environmental resources, and the associated changes in their access and availability, have generally been neglected, also in Laos. The overarching research question of this study aims to determine how dependent rural Lao livelihoods are on forest and environmental products by estimating their contribution in total household income and food security. The other objectives are i) to find out which forest and environmental products households are the most dependent on, ii) to compare NTFPs and timber in their contribution to livelihoods, and iii) to learn how the access to, and the number of, forest products has changed in the past and whether they are expected to change in the future. The primary data used in this study was collected in Mahaxay District, Central Lao PDR in March 2016. Altogether 90 randomly selected households were interviewed using semi-structured surveys in three sample villages purposefully selected along a remoteness gradient. In addition, two focus group discussions (one male and one female) and one key informant interview were conducted in each village to collect village-level background information. It was found that the sample households rely heavily on forests and the environment, especially for food products. In the most remote village 80% of the households would not have had enough to eat without the contribution of NTFPs in their nutrition. On average forest and environmental products contributed to 12% of the cash income of the households interviewed. The cash-equivalent value of subsistence income from forest and environmental products is higher than that of cash income from their sales all three sample villages. There were significant differences between the villages: the poorest village was also the most dependent on forest products for both cash and subsistence income. NTFPs were remarkably more important than timber for both subsistence and cash income. Bamboo shoots, firewood and mushrooms were the most collected forest products. Fallow was the most important land-use type for forest and environmental product collection. There was a strong decrease in both access to forest products and their availability in the past five years, and most sample households also expected the trend of decline to continue into the future. The kind of reliance on forests and wild lands described in this study is threatened by population growth, deforestation and forest degradation associated with Laos’ rapid economic transition. The strong dependency of the rural Lao population on forest and environmental income should be considered also by the Lao government in the aim for green economic transition.

International attempts to mitigate climate change and the growth in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have resulted in the formation of global carbon markets, including markets for forest carbon projects. Forests are critical in mitigating the effects of global climate change because they are major carbon sinks, and activities that alter forests can release or sequester carbon dioxide (CO2), the most common greenhouse gas. Various forestry activities are acceptable for carbon offsets, and the evolving forest carbon markets offer new opportunities for investors. To better understand the forest carbon market and its current situation, this thesis has gathered up-to-date information on the different market areas of forest carbon. The objective of this study was to research global forest carbon markets as a private sector investment. The aim was to discover the barriers and the prerequisites that exist for investors. Furthermore, the study aimed to discover the opportunities and challenges of forest carbon. In addition, the financial characteristics and risks of the forest carbon projects were identified. Analyzing these factors provide insight into how the forest carbon markets function, what are the market entry recommendations for a private sector investor, and what are the prospects of the forest carbon market after 2012. This study employed a qualitative research design. Empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with nine forest carbon professionals, who have extensive knowledge on the evolving forest carbon market. The findings from the interviews were triangulated with secondary data available in the public domain. The secondary data consisted of research articles, publications and Internet sources. The findings reveal that forest carbon projects may offer market opportunities, such as additional revenue and serve as “green investment”, but several issues have generated concerns and controversy. The main identified barrier is the uncertainty related to the global carbon market. In addition, there are other challenges creating barriers for entry for private investor, such as current measurement and monitoring practices, which are costly and time consuming. Project implementation in developing nations creates challenges related to the land tenure and carbon credit rights, just to mention a few. In many countries the legal and operational framework is not ready. Based on the study it can be concluded that the forest carbon should only be seen as extra revenue. The investment feasibility should not be based purely on carbon revenues; the cash flow needs to be generated from other forestry activities such as timber or non-wood forest products.

This master’s thesis examines the effect of international forest investing on the return and risk of the overall risky portfolio. In addition this study looks at the optimal share of forest in the portfolio and correlation between different assets. Interest towards investing in forestry has increased. As a result, knowledge of forest’s characteristics as an investment and different forest investment instruments has increased. Research on forest investing has however been carried out mainly on a national level. This thesis aims to expand the field of research by taking into consideration the global nature of investing. Today, many investors understand the importance of the diversification of the portfolio and hence divide the capital into different asset classes, sectors and markets. This study includes a theoretical framework in which forest assets that differ in terms of location, species, forest management and end product can be compared and included into the portfolio. Return on forestry is calculated according to the Faustmann formula. The historical average return is used as the expected future return. Optimisation of the overall risky portfolio is based on the modern portfolio theory. The framework was tested empirically with three hypothetical case study forest assets, located in Finland, the United States and Uruguay. These forest assets were included to a portfolio, which consisted of three alternative financial assets. Results showed that investing in forest improves the performance of the overall risky portfolio. The optimal share of forest in the portfolio is around 3-15% of the capital. The extent of forest investing’s benefits and the exact share of forest in the portfolio depend on the available risk-free rate. Most of the forest assets seemed to have a low correlation with other assets. It was found that exchange rates affected risk-reward ratios and hence also the results of the optimisation process.